9.10.2015

Sikh man called "terrorist," assaulted in hate attack

"Go back to your country, Bin Laden!"

I'm sorry for posting this upsetting photo, but I have to. This week in Chicago, a Sikh man was attacked in his car and violently beaten by an assailant who allegedly yelled "Terrorist, go back to your country, Bin Laden!"

53-year-old Inderjit Singh Mukker, who wears a beard and turban in observance of his Sikh faith, was driving to the grocery store in the Darien suburb of Chicago on Tuesday night when another driver pulled up to his car yelling racial slurs. The assailant then reached into Mukker's car and repeatedly punched him in the face.

Mukker lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital, where he received treatment for a fractured cheekbone, bruising and blood loss and six stitches for the lacerations on his face.

Mr. Mukker, a U.S. citizen and father of two, was on his way to the grocery store on S. Cass Avenue when the verbal taunting was initiated. Mr. Mukker turned onto Cass Avenue, but was repeatedly cut off by the driver. Mr. Mukker pulled over to the side of the road to let him pass, but the driver instead pulled in front of his car and aggressively approached Mr. Mukker's vehicle. The assailant then reached into the car and repeatedly punched Mr. Mukker in the face, causing him to lose consciousness, bleed profusely and suffer a fractured cheekbone and a laceration to his cheek. He was rushed to the hospital, where he received six stitches, treatment for lacerations, bruising and swelling. The suspect is in custody.

According to NBC Chicago, the alleged assailant is in custody, and the attack is being investigated as a hate crime. The Sikh Coalition, which is representing Mukker in this case, affirms that they believe he was targeted and assaulted because of his Sikh religious appearance. They're urging authorities to fully investigate the attack -- just the latest in a line of violent attacks on Sikh in America -- as a hate crime.

This attack, on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, is just the latest in a line of violent attacks on Sikhs in America. Last August, Sandeep Singh, a Sikh father in New York City, was run over and dragged 30 feet after being called a "terrorist." In 2012, a gunman with Neo-Nazi ties walked into a Sikh house of worship (gurdwara) and shot and killed six innocent Sikh victims in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. "No American should be afraid to practice their faith in our country," said the victim, Mr. Mukker. "I'm thankful for the swift response of authorities to apprehend the individual, but without this being fully investigated as a hate crime, we risk ignoring the horrific pattern of intolerance, abuse and violence that Sikhs and other minority communities in this country continue to face."